Honoring vets Henry wants wall to pay tribute By Eric StirgusJoanne Mulvaney stumbled upon the poem while pursuing plans to erect a commemorative wall honoringAmericaâ€™s military.â€œDo not stand by my grave and weepâ€¦ I am not there; I do not sleep.â€�As she reads that first verse, tears stream down Mulvaneyâ€™s cheeks.She plans to have the poem etched in the wall of the veterans memorial that, if completed, will stand inMcDonoughâ€™s Heritage Park.The effort by Mulvaney and several American Legion branches marks a renewed push in Henry County tobring a national veterans memorial to the area.Three years ago the county made four sites available for a national cemetery. Despite the lobbying oflocal admirals, generals and historians, the National Cemetery Administration selected a site in Cherokee.Metro Atlanta has a number of veterans memorials, such as the ones at the Atlanta History Center andDekalbâ€™s Brook Run and in Smyrna. And Rockdale County is building a Veterans Memorial Park.But those pushing the idea in Henry County say the Veterans Wall of Honor, as it will be known, will bedifferent from any other memorial in the nation because it will honor Americaâ€™s entire military history.They envision battle scenes from each U.S. war etched into the granite structure, which will stand 11 feettall and 75 feet long. The wall will also include famous speeches and poems honoring Americaâ€™s military.â€œThese men and women have put their lives on the line to protect us,â€� says Mulvaney, 43 a Dekalbdevelopment department review officer.Last month, Henry County commissioners agreed to set aside 2 Â½ acres in McDonoughâ€™s Heritage Parkfor the wall. One commissioner called it the â€œperfect placeâ€� for the memorial.Building the wall will cost $250,000.Mulvaney and others are raising the money privately, with some assistance from Henry Countygovernment.So far, they say, theyâ€™ve raised a few thousand dollars. The engineer and engraver have agreed to providetheir services at no cost.The wall, Mulvaney says, came to her in a dream one night as she thought about her father, JosephConsalvo, who worked at Robbins Air Force Base during World War II.Consalvo, 87, lies in a Jonesboro nursing home, suffering from brain cancer. A dispute with theDepartment of Veterans Affairs over benefits and care for her father prompted Mulvaney to beginresearching into veteransâ€™ benefits.Mulvaney sent letters to newspapers across the country and lobbied her local congressionalrepresentatives, decrying what she believes is a lack of resources and care provided by the federalgovernment.During that time she began thinking of ways to honor Americaâ€™s veterans.The wall, she says, seemed appropriate.Mulvaneyâ€™s efforts have inspired other veterans, such as Mike Starnes, who is among those working onthe idea.â€œSheâ€™s quite a gal,â€� Starnes, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, says of Mulvaney. â€œSheâ€™s educatedus quite a lot with issues concerning the VA.â€�For now, though, Mulvaney has focused her efforts on the wall.She hopes to see it built by Veterans Day.By then, Mulvaney hopes to be able to read that poem without weeping.â€œOne of these days,â€� she says, â€œIâ€™m going to do it.â€�